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Special to Savannah Morning News Spencer Wheeler and Ed Kenreich, on a ferry boat, teach their new Vietnamese friend how to say, "GO DAWGS!"

Special to Savannah Morning News The Savannah trio encountered these cute kids on their Vietnam ride.

Special to Savannah Morning News This monkey has a prime perch on a temple rail.

Special to Savannah Morning News Spencer Wheeler, Ed Kenreich and Noel Good pose during their trip to Vietnam.

Special to Savannah Morning News Savannahians Spencer Wheeler, Noel Good and Ed Kenreich pose in front of an ancient Vietnamese temple during their bicycle tour of the Southeast Asian nation.

A lively trio of active Savannahians who refuse to sit still while on vacation recently bicycled across Vietnam and were fascinated by what they experienced in the Southeast Asian country.

Ed Kenreich, Spencer Wheeler and Noel Good took time out of their busy work and family schedules to join a group of seven other avid cyclists from throughout the United States (and one from Barbados) who toured Vietnam on mountain bikes. The three men spent nearly a month pedaling along the Mekong River, starting in Ho Chi Minh (formerly Saigon) and ending up in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Along the way they took excursions to ancient temples, snake farms and sampled local delicacies such as fried spiders. They were surprised at how reasonably priced the food and drinks were, they said.

“We ate and drink like kings for almost nothing,” Wheeler said. Other sights, like roosters caged in preparation for cock fights, were shocking.

The local bicyclists began talking about traveling more than a year ago, said Kenreich, who has taken adventure vacations to Peru and Ecuador, among other spots. “We wanted to go to a place that’s different,” he added. “We wanted to get a little culture as well as exercise.”

Kenreich estimates that he has been biking for 40 years, “ever since I smashed both ankles and gave up running,” he explained. Wheeler “got into biking” for cross-training purposes. As an orthopedic surgeon, Wheeler is a big fan of biking, compared to running, although he tries to log in 100 miles of running a week.

“You run one day and you hurt the next,” Wheeler explained. “You bike one day and you’re ready to go again the next day, free of pain.” (Good was out of town when I interviewed Wheeler and Kenreich.) Additionally, Wheeler said, All three men regularly participate local weekend bike rides that from Galleria Express/Perry Rubber downtown bright and early on Saturday mornings and from the Habersham YMCA on Sundays.

With the Savannah group, safety comes first. The cyclists wear helmets and ride at a steady pace because “no one’s out to prove anything,” Wheeler said. “It’s very relaxing and we have an awesome camaraderie,” Wheeler said.

The idea of a Vietnam tour evolved when the three men and “a few of the more adventurous guys” starting tossing around possible destinations, including Europe, Wheeler said.

Vietnam won out after they read about the group tour online. “It definitely had an appeal,” Kenreich said, “but you have to be careful when you go because of the rainy season.” They settled on November and December, and ended up being the only three Savannahians to make the trip.

The three men and other members of the group stayed in nice hotels, simple huts and everything else in between, Kenreich said. Riding conditions on the 350- to 400-mile trip ranged from paved streets to rutted paths along the river, as well as from big cities to primitive areas where tourists rarely venture.

“(In these locations) some of the kids had never seen white people,” Spencer said. “We were like rock stars. They may not have had electricity, but they knew the word ‘hello.’” Once when a bridge was out, the group had to carry their bicycles on their shoulders across the river, he added. Another time, they rode a ferry to an island and spent the night in huts in beds covered with mosquito nets, although both Kenreich and Wheeler insisted insects were never a problem.

The group congregated in Ho Chi Minh City after flying 17 hours from Atlanta to Tokyo and 6 more to Vietnam. They recovered from jet lag and saw a few city sights before hopping on their mountain bikes (supplied by the tour company) and venturing off into the country. A bus carrying luggage and refreshments tailed the men and women who pedaled in 96-degree temperatures in humid conditions similar to Savannah’s, Wheeler said. The main mode of transportation in Vietnam seems to be the scooter, he added. “Instead of a van, a family of four has a scooter and they all ride on it,” Wheeler said, adding that he saw a man astride a scooter balancing two mattresses and a couple zooming down the street carrying a baby hooked up to an intravenous bag on a pole.

While crisscrossing the countryside, the men were able to visit dozens of ancient temples, many of which are crumbling. “(Vietnam and Cambodia) have so little financial resources,” Kenreich said. “They have nothing like our National Park service.”

Residents were extremely friendly, Wheeler said. “They bear no animosity towards Americans (because of the Vietnam War) and welcomed us with open arms. Some people didn’t even know we were Americans. They thought we were European or Australian. (When asked) they never guessed that we were from the USA.”

The children throughout the country impressed both Wheeler and Kenreich. “They were incredible,” Wheeler said. “They were smiling and happy all the time.”

Added Kenreich: “They would never beg because it’s not part of their culture.”

Both men also were amazed at the small number of police officers they saw in Ho Chi Minh. “We said, ‘where are the police?’” Wheeler recalled, “We were told that they don’t have much crime because the Vietnamese don’t like crime and won’t put up with it.”

The Vietnamese and Cambodian people, the natural beauty of the countries as well as the ancient temples made a lasting impression on both men who took hundreds of photographs along the way.

They Savannahians already are planning their next adventure, possibly to the Patagonia region in South America, Kenreich said.